Beatles fans have been given a glimpse into the budding romance between Paul McCartney Linda Eastman, the American girl who was to become his wife, as three previously unseen letters go on sale in a London auction.
The English star, 24, and Linda, a 25-year-old photographer who was in the UK to take pictures of ‘swinging ‘60s’ bands, met at a nightclub in London in May 1967 and before long the relationship hit the headlines, with fans watching as their love for each other blossomed.
But the letters from Eastman to her friend Miki Antony were written before their courtship was public knowledge, and reveal her excitement at dating the Beatles star.
“She stayed with me when she first came to London,” Antony told The Guardian. “[She said] ‘Guess who I dated last night? … It was Paul McCartney, and we had this lovely evening.”
Such a lovely evening, Anthony revealed, that Eastman bought McCartney a white rabbit as gift and when the Beatle rang to thank her, he invited her out to dinner again and “the rest is history”, Anthony added.
In another letter Linda explained that she had quit her job as a photographer at Britain’s Town & Country magazine to pursue freelance photography. She went on to talk about photographing “groovy” bands including the Rolling Stones and described Mick Jagger as a “really terrific person” – adding “much to my surprise”.
Then, in June 1967, Linda photocopied a page in an American gossip column that mentioned her relationship with McCartney and sent it to her friend Antony. She had underlined the passage that read: “They say Beatle Paul McCartney’s latest favourite femme is Linda Eastman, a Yankee Doodle fan-mag [photographer]”.
On the back, Eastman wrote to Antony: “Thought you’d get a big laugh over the enclosed clipping. Have no idea where they picked up that lie, but it just shows how truthful newspapers are”.
In fact, McCartney and Eastman tied the knot two years later, breaking the hearts of millions of Beatles fans but starting a marriage in which they were devoted to each other until Linda’s death in 1998 from breast cancer.
Speaking to the BBC this year, McCartney said he cried for a year as he came to grips with life without Eastman.
“You expect to see them walk in, this person you love, because you are so used to them,” he said. “I cried a lot. It was almost embarrassing except it seemed the only thing to do.”
Antony’s letters will be sold by Chiswick Auctions in January, as part of a larger sale of autographs and memorabilia.
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